News
A Cheat Sheet for Decoding Vinyl Product Literature
HBN created a "cheat sheet" to help connect the dots between our guidance on vinyl flooring and the technical literature produced by manufacturers. Have this sheet at the ready when a vinyl floor is necessary on your next project, and you're looking to make it as healthy as possible.
Read MoreBrief: Post-Consumer Polyethylene in Building Products
Learn how affordable housing communities can help ensure the quality of recycled polyethylene plastics, preventing contaminants from being incorporated into future building products made from this scrap. Healthy Building Network’s research into current recycling practices offers guidance.
Read MoreSpectrum of Flooring Options Now Includes Ceramic Tiles
At your request, we’ve expanded the chart once again to include two variations of ceramic tiles on the market: those manufactured in the USA and those manufactured abroad.
Read MoreSelecting the Wrong Drywall Could Introduce Mercury into the Environment
Make a big impact without paying more or sacrificing performance by ensuring your specification provides an incentive for drywall with: 1. The highest percentage of natural gypsum possible. 2. The lowest amount of pre-consumer recycled content. 3. A preference for post-consumer recycled content. When using healthier drywall products, encourage your contractor to separate waste for recycling. Watch this short video on recycling drywall.
Read MoreBrief: Post-Consumer Flexible Polyurethane Foam Scrap Used In Building Products
Carpet cushion (that soft layer installed between a sub-floor and a carpet) is made from flexible polyurethane foam (FPF). Generally that foam is recycled scrap from the manufacture of furniture, such as couch cushions, or old carpet cushion itself. Healthy Building Network’s research into current recycling practices for FPF indicates that most post-consumer foam is contaminated with highly toxic flame retardants.
Read MoreA Primer on Interior Paint
Interior paints can cover enormous amounts of a building’s surface area in a building. Walls and ceilings, as well as moldings and casings can all be painted surfaces. Selecting a palette of paint products that have the fewest hazards possible for a given project can therefore have a magnified impact on occupants.
Read MoreHBCD-free Styrofoam™ Insulation Coming to USA -- by Jim Vallette
Good news in the insulation world. By 2018, extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation will be available in North America without the extremely toxic flame retardant, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD).
Read MoreOn Tire Wastes in Playgrounds -- by Jim Vallette
"The tire industry has thrived in a regulatory void." HBN's Jim Vallette explains how tire waste came to America's playgrounds.
Read MoreFilled with Uncertainty: Toxic Dirt in Building & Construction -- by Jim Vallette
What's the latest dirt? Jim Vallette finds a lot to uncover in construction fill and playground mulch.
Read MoreHomeFree -- by Gina Ciganik
Welcome to HomeFree, the Healthy Building Network’s new initiative that supports affordable housing leaders who are improving human health through the use of healthy, high-performing building materials.
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